National Kidney Foundation Sponsors Golf Classic in Massachusetts

A graduate of the Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Rex Mahnensmith serves as an internal medicine physician at StayWell Health Center in Waterbury, Connecticut. A recipient of several awards and designations, Dr. Rex Mahnensmith earned a Research Fellowship Award from the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).

Founded in 1950, the NKF supports kidney patients and their families while raising awareness about the dangers associated with kidney disease. The organization’s efforts helped create the Kidney Early Evaluation Program, which allowed doctors to study and analyze ways to better treat kidney disease. The organization is now the largest and most comprehensive one dedicated to kidney disease.

The NKF sponsors several fundraising events throughout the year, including golf classics. The NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic takes place on June 12, 2018, at the Boston Golf Club in Hingham, Massachusetts. Now in its seventh year at the Boston location, the tournament has raised more than $600,000 to support, prevent, raise awareness for, and treat kidney disease. Golfers have a chance to qualify for the national finals at Pebble Beach as well as compete for prizes provided by local and national sponsors.

How Sugar Can Affect Your Body

A professor emeritus at Yale University, Dr. Rex Mahnensmith has passionately cared for patients for over three decades. Dr. Rex Mahnensmith’s special interests include obesity, metabolism, preventive health, prediabetes, and diabetes. He has written numerous articles to help people better understand different medical conditions. 

In one article, Dr. Mahnensmith traces how sugar travels through the body and affects tissues. Sucrose, commonly known as sugar, is produced by plants. When ingested sucrose, a complex sugar, is broken down into two simple sugars - glucose and fructose. These two simple sugars are easily absorbed into the bloodstream. 

Glucose is the energy source for tissue cells. To facilitate its travel to the cells via the bloodstream, the pancreas releases an appropriate level of insulin, which also maintains the optimal level of glucose. There can be a condition when glucose remains in the bloodstream much longer than the ideal one to two hours. 

When this occurs, the highly reactive glucose molecules can interact with other reactive molecules in a process known as glycation. This can lead to irreversible changes in tissues that can ultimately cause diseases. Millions of people around that world who are prediabetic and diabetic experience this condition.